The most underappreciated issue in urbanism is the Anglosphere’s transit construction cost problem. It’s not just that we’re spending too much money on any particular project. It’s that we could be getting *much more transit* for the *same amount of money we’re currently spending*.

Via Rail is my favourite Canadian airline.

So glad to be featured in @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social excellent video! High costs in Canada have been accepted as an inevitability - as projects are descoped & cancelled. ION & REM show that another way is possible… …given the humility to abandon our Anglo roots & learn from global best practice.

Lots of differences in education culture/system that people don’t realize. Contrary to the US, with many small selective private universities like Harvard, all of Canada’s notable universities are large and public. The University of Toronto has more undergrads than the entire Ivy League.

The most underappreciated issue in urbanism is the Anglosphere’s transit construction cost problem. It’s not just that we’re spending too much money on any particular project. It’s that we could be getting *much more transit* for the *same amount of money we’re currently spending*.

So google maps updated some satellite footage, here’s one single Ukrainian village. One out of thousands

Car-centric design hurts people in small towns just like in big cities. I saw this old lady cross this busy road on her walker because the direct trip (nursing home to Tim Horton’s) was 100 metres, versus 1 kilometre to walk up the road, cross at a light, and come back. Town of 1,200 in Ontario.

Ipsos 🇨🇦: "To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: We can never trust the Americans the same way again." (Sept.9-12, 2025) 🟢Agree 60% 🔴Disagree 16% 338 Sunday Update: Canadians Losing Faith in U.S. Partnership ↓ www.338canada.ca/p/338-sunday...

Conducting tasks while receiving e-mails and phone calls reduces a worker’s IQ by about ten points relative to working in uninterrupted quiet. That is equivalent to losing a night’s sleep, and twice as debilitating as using marijuana.

The experience of Trump should make us question protectionism, not embrace it. Disfavour US contracts, sure. But otherwise we should be buying from whatever supplier is best (on quality/price), whether from Canada, Korea, Germany, etc.

We are independent countries who will not have our foreign policy dictated by the United States. Even less so by Republicans who have disgraced their country in supporting Trump. You have no moral authority or goodwill.

Docked bike share has some advantages.

I grew up in a small town and loved walking to see friends, biking to school, etc. Cars are important to small towns, but that doesn’t mean things have to suck for everyone outside of a car. Getting around on foot shouldn't be downright dangerous for kids and seniors. There needs to be a balance.

Glass half full, glass half empty?

Car-centric design hurts people in small towns just like in big cities. I saw this old lady cross this busy road on her walker because the direct trip (nursing home to Tim Horton’s) was 100 metres, versus 1 kilometre to walk up the road, cross at a light, and come back. Town of 1,200 in Ontario.

If we build more housing near transit, more people will be able to live near transit.

This new bike corridor is 500 metres from an existing parallel route. What’s the point? 1. Relieves congestion. The other route is very popular. 2. More direct for many trips. A friend’s round-trip to a sports league is now 10 mins faster, avoiding 2 km of detour (4×500 m) each day he goes.

Amazing before/after of a highway interchange being removed in Halifax. This is on the north edge of downtown. The area now looks completely different from when I lived in the city. This interchange was built for an elevated highway through downtown that never got built (fortunately).

On top of the political algorithm manipulation, Twitter fundamentally became a much less usable social media platform by suppressing links and requiring you to pay for people to see your posts.

How competitive are provincial elections in Canada? Three provinces (Quebec, Alberta, Nova Scotia) have had three different parties in power since 2010. Six provinces have had two different parties (BC, ON, NB, MB, PEI, NL). One province has had one party rule since then (Saskatchewan).

America is going to invade Venezuela because the President doesn't understand the meaning of asylum.

Trump campaigned on a trade war and immigration crackdown. And farm-heavy counties still gave him 78% of the vote. Sorry guys, you voted for this. Enjoy the consequences!

Watatatow. Regardez-moi cette saillie de trottoirs drainante à Vancouver. C'est un petit village à elle toute seule. À vélo ou à pied, on ne peut que s'y arrêter. C'est de toute beauté. Toutes les rues qui permettent ce genre d'aménagements devraient être comme ça.

This new bike corridor is 500 metres from an existing parallel route. What’s the point? 1. Relieves congestion. The other route is very popular. 2. More direct for many trips. A friend’s round-trip to a sports league is now 10 mins faster, avoiding 2 km of detour (4×500 m) each day he goes.

One of the great paradoxes of authoritarianism is that so-called strongman leaders are always very thin-skinned

Nick Kristof went to talk to some of the moms losing their beloved children to Trump’s aid cuts. We are paying storage on already existing food rather than release it to starving kids. “I loved my child so much” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/o...

Look at how small the space for cars will be on this street approaching the intersection! Bike lane to the left, sidewalk on the right. (Rue de Champlain, Montreal)

Never forget that 77.3 million Americans voted to give a game show host who attacked the Capitol and a drunken newscaster nuclear weapons. And never forgive it, either.

the republican party, and american conservatism in general, is such an incoherent political project for decades americans have been taunting the world about how the 1st amendment is so broad and powerful and great and unmovable and so so american and now?

I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS I FUCKING HATE TARIFFS

Look at how small the space for cars will be on this street approaching the intersection! Bike lane to the left, sidewalk on the right. (Rue de Champlain, Montreal)

The REM was proposed, planned designed, started construction, completed construction and entered service all within the construction period of Toronto's Line 5

“The time [REM] went from ‘doesn’t exist’ to [revenue service] is mind blowing...” A masterpiece from @hudsonyuen.bsky.social featuring @chittimarco.bsky.social & @englishrail.bsky.social. So proud to have played a small part. MUST WATCH for planners who believe the status quo is inevitable

Montreal’s municipal election signs are going up. This is the mayoral candidate from the opposition party, which is generally much more pro-car and anti-bike/pedestrian. She’s promised to “audit” the city’s bike lanes.

What a weird video. This American geopolitical analyst justifies Trump’s hostility to Canada by suggesting we pose some threat, but says Canada shouldn’t be annexed because America would have to fund our retirements — ignoring that our pension funds are more funded/secure than theirs.

Good. I don’t want Canada to throw Mexico under the bus, like Doug Ford suggested. I don’t want Canada being pressured into joining Trump’s trade war against China. When Trump goes after nearly every country, infighting between those countries only helps him.

Soon.

“I’m disappointed that I came to Canada and it was difficult to find Canadians who are passionate about the Canadian-American relationship.” - the MAGA U.S. ambassador to Canada after his president torched that relationship

“How Montreal’s miracle metro could change everything” by The Flying Moose on YouTube

I’ve mentioned it before but it’s happened again: a very large percentage of our child-related travel is medium-distance trips that don’t line up well with transit (so it’s barely faster than walking) but biking is literally as fast as driving. Bike-friendly cities are family-friendly cities!

This section of new bike lane has recently been completed! (Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine) I usually think it’s important for cyclists to follow traffic lights, but I can’t fault people at a T-intersection like this (after making sure there are no pedestrians crossing).

I’ve used this database to reference the construction date of buildings in Montreal but it’s gone offline. Does anyone know of an alternative to easily see the construction date of buildings here?

Not a joke, apparently: this NIMBY campaign page in Milwaukee talks about a 4-storey building as being “out of scale” with surrounding 3-storey buildings. But they’re not against development, just this one.

More and more people using the Ave. Christophe-Colomb bike lanes as construction progresses and more connections open up!

For anyone interested in transit in Ottawa!

This article (by @alonlevy.bsky.social) relates to my skepticism of transit-oriented development in the suburbs being offered as an alternative to “ruining” old central neighbourhoods with more density. Often the best case is that people will *maybe* take transit to work but drive everywhere else.

It partly explains why Americans are so much more possessive (and crazy) over anyone getting near their house or *their* parking spot even. If the sidewalk is your financial responsibility then really its just another part of your property. Anyone walking down a sidewalk is walking on your property

Even NYC of all places? “Property owners are responsible for maintaining and repairing sidewalks next to their property.” “If a property owner does not repair the sidewalk, the city may repair and bill them for the cost.” That’s not how roads work. Why would sidewalks work like that?

Wow! Today I learned that in many parts of the US, property owners are responsible for maintenance and repair of sidewalks, leading to inconsistent and dangerous conditions. That’s wild. Purely anti-pedestrian policy.

I like seeing safe streets and related topics covered by channels that don’t focus on urbanism